Previous work has shown that prevention of hyperphagia in the genetically obese Zucker rat does not prevent the development of hyperplastic-hypertrophic obesity. In addition, some metabolic factors associated with the obesity in this strain of rats were further altered by the food restriction. For example, serum insulin levels were significantly elevated in the food restricted obese rats compared to ad libitum fed obese rats. In these studies, it is proposed to further investigate the effects of food restriciton in this model for obesity. Obese rats will be food restricted for longer periods of time to encompass life span. Additional studies will be undertaken to study the effects of meal feeding in these obese rats with respect to adipose tissue development, hepatic lipogenesis and serum factors. Insulin binding and glucose metabolism will be studied in adipose tissue and muscle in an attempt to identify a possible site of metabolic alteration in these food restricted obese rats.